Eat Those Veggies!
When my oldest, Ewan, was a baby he would eat ANYTHING! Asparagus, kale, broccoli, peas, spinach, carrots, you name it. Well, he is 4 years old now and vegetables don’t have the same appeal they once had. What can I say, he’s acting his age. Surprisingly, the things he LOVED as a baby are not as fun to eat now. He actually prefers raw vegetables these days to cooked ones. Isaac, my 3 year old, eats a bigger variety of food than Ewan, including vegetables. I have been worried about whether or not Ewan gets enough veges in his diet. He would eat bread, pasta, and rice until he turned into a giant carbohydrate if we let him! I personally have a hard time getting the recommended amount of vegetables in my own diet. It is always easy to include vegetables at dinner time but I have a harder time for lunch.
It is because of this that I was interested in the book Deceptively Delicious by Jessica Seinfeld. I had heard about it several months ago and put it in my mental catalogue of cookbooks to try. Then some friends were telling me about it and some of the recipes and I decided to bite the bullet and buy it. When my friend, Kim (who has 4 kids), shared that her kids were gobbling up the food she was cooking I got excited!
The way it works and the reason it is called “Deceptively Delicious” is because you add pureed vegetables to the recipes. It doesn’t affect the flavor in an obvious way but you get some of the extra veggies you need. The book has some great information in it on how the different vegetables are helpful to our bodies. She has a thorough list of foods to keep on hand in your pantry in order to make the recipes from the book. After reading over the list I noticed the things she recommends are items that I usually have on hand anyway. For example, whole wheat flour, whole wheat tortillas, parmesan cheese, brown rice, whole grain pastas, wheat germ, cottage cheese, chicken broth, canned beans. The list is much longer but that gives you an idea of what is required of the recipes. The only thing that I don’t normally keep on hand and needed to get was Flax Seed meal. Flax seeds provide omega-3 fatty acids to your diet which is a great alternative if you aren’t a fish eater. They are good for your bones and your heart.
Share the fun: Email + Del.icio.us + Digg + Technorati
In the past ten months my husband and I have both quit our regular day jobs. We know that it wouldn’t have been possible to pursue our dreams if our finances were out of control. About three years ago we were both were working full-time jobs making more than the national family average and we had nothing to show for it. Our net worth was negative. We decided to take charge of our finances and learn about money. Since then we have paid off more than $50,000 of debt. The biggest tool that got us under control was a budget. This post is not about how to make a budget, but simply the act of getting together and trying to set a budget for your family.
